Traveling Aardvark: January 2009

Hey, it's the Pacific Ocean!

We finally made it! In this area it looks kinda of like Lake Michigan but when the waves wash in they are foamier. Hoping to see some rocky shoreline as we go south.

Monterey Bay.

Had to stop for a look-see.

Where's Grammie?

There she is WAY down there sticking her toes in the water!

Geemeenee!

It was COLD COLD COLD!

Happy fruit!

We passed through the big agricultural area. All kinds of orchards and ground crops, things I couldn't identify. Near Gilroy we could smell garlic bigtime-it's the Garlic Capitol! And Castroville-the Artichoke Capitol (couldn't smell that!) whose resturants advertised "Deep Fried Artichokes" it was tempting...but we didn't stop.

Monterey Bay Aquarium

We decided to visit the aquarium while were in the area. They had outside displays too and offshore were kelp beds and you could see the otters floating around. It was very kid friendly too-places where you could touch the starfish and urchins and rays. We also had a nice lunch there-yes-Jim got fish & chips-but no, he did not get to choose it from the tank! Sorry Charlie! It was a nice anniversary day-39-unbelieveable!

Big fish.

The crowds on both sides of the glass.

There they go!

Fish school!

A swarm of anchovies

They were mesmerizing-swirling and turning and catching the light- mostly sticking together till a big fish came through and scattered them-them reforming again. It's way cooler than seeing them on tv!

A jelly storm!

Lots of jelly's here- ever so slowly puffing up and down and up and down-what a life

A long one.

Jellies-so pretty!

They had lots of jelly displays-from big to so tiny and all lit up pretty.

Lookin

You could view these tanks fom two floors. I thought the aquarium on Maui was big but this place topped it.

Thar she blows!

Big fish

I don't think it's a shark-they had lots of huge fish-tunas were enormus-oh-Jim said a it was a sturgeon.

Kelp forest

The big tanks were awsome.

Pea Soup Anderson's Place

Today we planed to see Yosemite National Park. The car had other plans. We entered the park and climbed to between 5,000 to 6,000 ft. and the car stated to slow down and finally stop. The road is a two lane winding road with no shoulders. The car would start and only move about 10 feet before it would die again. A park ranger stopped to see if we needed help. We messed around about a half an hour with the air cleaner. When I went to start the car again, it started and continued to run OK. Linda did not want to continue on into the park any further. So, we went back down out of the park and headed west. When the sun started to set we started to look around for a place to stay. We ended up in Santa Nella staying at the Holiday Inn Express. This is the only picture we took all day. We plan to continue west to the coast tomorrow.

Winter Mountain Driving

Today was my first experience with front wheel drive and tire chains. I rented tire chains and was shown how to put one on. The most important thing to consider is tire clearance, wheel well and strut to tire clearance. The second thing, in my opinion, is chain tightness. The tighter the better. It took me about three stop and goes to find this out. I wasn't given enough little pieces of wire to keep the adjusted links from striking the strut every time the wheel made a rotation. After cutting a coat hanger and adjusting chains as tight as I could, the tire chains still would nick the strut on every rotation. It was a loud twenty plus miles of beautiful mountian road. I think I will try tire cables next time. Less of a clearance issue.

Tunnel Rock

The road used to go under here- the roof was ALL scraped up- too many tall vehicles! So they moved the road.

Tunnel rock

The road used to go under here! The top was all scraped up- too many tall vehicles, so they moved the road.

Low bridge.

The car is over there.

Moro rock from afar.

Snowball!

Gettin ready

Putting on the chains and thinking about putting down the top...oh why not!

Moro Rock

It's a biggie The view from up there was supposed to be great but the road was closed for the winter.

A survivor

There were fire scars at the base.

Look Mom, No top on the car.

This was ABSOLUTELY the best use of the convertable ever!! We had the heat on full blast.

Look up!

Hard to get them in the picture!

Peek

Happy Happy Joy Joy

At the log.

Grampy

At the walk through log.

Just another roadside giant.

Sweeties in the snow

A nice French guy offered to take our picture-so we did the same for him.

Genral Sherman

The biggest tree in the world-mass-wise.

Chain adjustment.

Wheeee!

Taken by me over the top of the windshield-Cool & breezy.

Nice vistas

Things just went off into the distance.....

The road.

The snow was pretty high along the roadside, the plows were out scraping it back.

Little car-BIG trees!

Sunset in the hills.

After we left the park, I plotted a course that LOOKED like a mainish road, silly me! I forgot how mountain roads are- it was curvier than the park road. But it was on the west side so we had wonderful views on the way back to the motel. But those 10mph hairpin turns are scary when there's no guardrails-no nuthin but open space! Wheeee!

Red Rock Canyon State Park 1-28-09

Today we traveled from Vectorville CA. to Lemoncove CA. We cover a couple of hundred miles driving mainly north and west through dry lands, mountains, and around nearly half empty resevors. (sp) The last few years of drought in the state really shows. The weather has been clear and sunny in the mid-sixties and looks like it is going to be like this for another week. We are going to stay here for a couple of days and check-out Sequoia National Park and what ever else catches our interest.

Oops!

This was supposed to go farther on in the snow pictures at the end of this day.Anyhow the sun was evaporating the water & it was all kinda magical looking!

Red Rock Canyon State Park

This was a very eroded area with pillers & spires, very geological1

There she goes again!

Far Grammie!

The red layers were really neat.

There's Grammie!

There's Grampy!

Who Dat?

Look look, a wandering aardvark!

Neat wall

Some of the stuff looked like drip castles at the cottage.

Sandwitchy

There were lots of different layers of different kinds of rocks in the park. There were small lava rocks around too. That layer had been on the top and was the first to get eroded away/

More rocks

Nice tilted rocks here.

Big pillars

Kind of looked like a cathedral.

Guess who?

Grampy says Hi Corbin.

Campsite area

The sites in the park were right up against the rocks.

I was here!

Not enough for a whole angel.

Roadside picture stop

We did manage to find some snow up in the high pass coming across the mountains.

Lake Isabella

There wasn't much water in the area lakes but it was still pretty.

A real nice park.

We enjoyed it yesterday so we drove back through again today.

Hey- these didn't have snow yesterday!

Woke up to colder weather and snow on the high peaks,

Brrrr.

More pretty mountains

Joshua Trees

Cap Rock

There were lots of precariously perched rocks around. BAD place to be in an earthquake.

Hiking around

Stickie outie rocks

This was a favorite rock climbing area. There were regular named routes. No good way to show the size but it was BIG!

Rock Jumble

It looked like a little stool.

Hallooo down there!

See little Grampy?

Big T

He was heading for Burger King!

Big Munch.

We got off the expressway to get a bite and found this guy and his buddy out back. It was a little museum inside. (it was closed) Scott said maybe it was the one in Pee Wee's Big Adventure? Anyhow I found a similar picture on the Roadside Atraction web site.Cool!

Snow?

What IS this? oh....I remember! We left it behind WEEKS ago. HA! Pretty tall mountains in California.

WHEEEEEE!

A windy start to the day- but it's bright and sunny and who knows what we'll see. The sand dunes and the Salton Sea and Joshua Tree National Park-sounds like fun!

Somebody's homes!

Tarantulas? I didn't stay to find out.

Where's WalMart?

Miles & miles & MILES from anywhere. Curioser & curioser!

Chocolate Mountains

Yum!

Window Picture

The dunes sretched to he horizon.

Imperial Sand Dunes

There were places where it looked like Silver Lake Dunes but just a slightly different color-more kind of orangey.

Sea in the desert.

Yeah-it was strange to see.

Look at the birdie!

There were seagulls and pelicans too.

Lookin at stuff.

Sun on the water.

Big mountains on the other side

Wow!

Heading into Joshua Tree National Park- It's huge. The road goes through the middle of the park like the Smokies. Was so cool we are probably going back tomorrow.

Heading in to the park

Fuzzy Chollas

A big vista!

Iguana rock.

Well it kinda looked like one from the road- a head bump on the left then the spine-oh I guess you had to be there.

Up in the rocks again.

Large rocks

More big rocks.

Dualing photos!

Skull rock-we think.

Looked more skullish from the road.

Way up.

I had to be careful, I didn't have on my good rockclimbing shoes.

Hi!

Grammie in the rocks.

My cairn

Couldn't stack them as high as Mother Nature had.

Nice light

Getting late in the day and the low level light was nice on the rocks.

Big Rocks!

Corbin, here's the car!

Out the window!

Sometimes you can be a lazy picture taker.

Sunset

Time to go look for a motel.

A Sign!

Can you read this?

Casa Grande

This was a big ceremonial building in a village complex built by the Hohokum people aound 1100 to 1300. They had irrigation systems set up for lots of crops and managed to be pretty successful . From the artifacts that were found ;there was quite a trade system with tribes from different areas- some pretty far away. After arould 1300 they kinda disappeared- weather change is suspected. Pretty amazing that people could live in that desert!

Still pretty impressive.

One side

Another side

Inside wall

It was three stories tall. The inside walls were nicely smoothed- good workmanshp to have lasted so long.

Old Graffiti

An old horse soldier I bet.

The Casa Grande

The roof and some repairs were done in 1932.

Ruins

Here's one of the house remains.

Hmmmmmmm.

A hummingbird! Blackchinned maybe?

Any relation?

Lava field

Found some neat lava rocks at a roadside rest area.

The car on vacation.

We went looking for a park and ended up at a landfill. Bummer!

Here's Grampy!

Hey Corbin!

What a vista!

We decided to hike around the park on the East side of Tucson. There were not as many Saguaros as on the West side park. There were great montain views though.

Yummy!

Comes with it's own toothpicks.

A big old rock.

Somethin older than me!

Hi!

The daredevil!

Cloud shadows.

The views were awsome.

Way up.

Climbing around.

More desert stuff.

It was interesting to see the difference in plants in this desert in Arizona and the ones in New Mexico.

A variety shot.

Lots of different kinds.

It's a biggie!I

This one has lotza stuff.

Bronze work evolution of birds

This picture did not turn out very good. It starts at the right with a one celled animal, to fishes, to lizads, to a bird. This bronze work is about fifty feet long and about ten feet high with alot of detail. I liked it alot. Too bad you can't see all the detail the artist provided.

Howling at the moon

Through-out the Sonora Desert Museum there are bronze statues. This one of two mice in the desert at the full moon. Wolves are not the only ones the howl at the moon.

A bit more

You can kind of see the second one- pictures just can't do it justice!

Rainbow

This bit of a rainbow in the middle became a whole rainbow-then a super bright double rainbow that lasted more than a half hour- it was the best I've ever seen.

Hill-o-prickles

They're all over!

Zzzzzzzz

A sleepy mountain lion.

The lookout!

This was a fat little prarie dog!

In bloom!

This is a century plant-after the bloom it'll die-awww.

Like sneaky snakes!

Creeping along the ground cacti.

Old Man Cactus

This one has fuzzy stuff sticking out- I think some birds use it for nesting material.

More Prickles!

Don't sit here!

Tortoise- no hare!

This desert tortoise was having a snack.

Odd top

Some genetic quirk does this to 1 in 200,000 cacti.

Grenery

This one was really cool- looked fake!

The bush

This is the one.

Red flower

This is the flower from that witchy-poo ocotillo.

AHHHH1

Grammie needs a rest.

First flower!

There are actually a few things in flower down here! This one is Fairy Duster.

Interesting Rocks!

For Tracey

Once again..not so cuddly!

Droopy

If the arms get frost damage they droop but if they are still ok they will try and grow upward again. Maybe Viagra?

Oldstuff- the cactus-NOT me!

This is an old cactus-only the woody core is left.

OW!

These are Teddy Bear Chollas.
Not real cuddly.

Big Prickly!

Well here's Jim-he's on this adventure too..but usually taking the pictures!

Finally! Cartoon Cactus!

They come in all sizes with arms all over!
And there's all kinds of cacti. Everywhere.

On the road 1-22-09

While driving from Bisbee to Tucson in the rain (off and on rain), these mountains had clouds moving across and around the peaks. The Smokies aren't the only mountains with smoke. The western mountians have smoke too.

Big rocks-little me

This is my first time narating (?)and I thought I didn't post a couple of the pictures- so I repeated
myself in some of them- Well EXCUSE ME- I'm learning!

Rocks!

The witchie-poo looking sticks are ocotillo-they have flowers on the ends of the twigs in the spring. I guess I didn't fathom that winter is winter- even in the desert. So there is a lot of leafless stuff, but it IS different leafless stuff than what we have up north,and interesting none the less.

Peek a Boo!

Here I go!

Neat place-we scared up a couple of owls back in the trees in the rocks. An old lava field all eroded away-it was a pretty large area out in the middle of nowhere. There's a lot of nowhere out there and it's so quiet that if somebody uttered a discouraging word there's no one to hear it!

Lots o Rocks!

It was a neat place-we scared up a couple of owls. There were a few balanced rocks like in the picure.

City from afar

It was a bit Stonehenge and Easter Islandish but all natural! Old volcanic lava all eroded away and out in the middle of nowhere. There's HUGE areas of pretty much nowhere out here. So very quiet that if you uttered a discouraging word nobody would hear it!

City of Rocks 1-21-09

The garden was small but the rock formations were large. There was a camp ground built in and around these gigantic rocks. A great place for childern of all ages to play

City of Rocks S.P. 1- 21-09

The temperature finally warmed up enough to put the top down.

yea! We had to travel ten days before we could put the top down.
I didn't burn my head too much that day, but we surely enjoyed the wind in the hair in January.